Installation of the Month (July 2022): Kenwood Inn & Spa

A key focus for us over the last several years has been the installation of additional chargers at holiday hot spots, tourist destinations, and other key points of interest. Not only will it help dispel long-range travel anxiety among many new EV drivers, but it will also lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions otherwise generated by gas-guzzlers during peak vacation seasons. Moreover, our egalitarian approach to site selection means we’re just as likely to install a charger at a McDonald’s as we are at a Morton’s since we understand the value in catering to a broad clientele. However, higher net worth individuals continue to drive EV sales in the US (a June 2021 Fuels Institute study specifies middle-aged males with household incomes over $100,000), so catering to venues that offer a luxury experience will encourage even greater participation by this group while serving as a bellwether for lower-income drivers who are attracted to the idea of electric mobility as a symbol of status.

In that vein, we’re featuring the beautifully appointed Kenwood Inn & Spa, a luxurious two-and-a-half acre getaway nestled amongst the hills of the Sonoma Valley and home to our first ever 100kW supercharger. The picturesque property is located at 10400 Sonoma Highway in the town of Kenwood and can be seen here.

The Kenwood Inn & Spa, part of the Four Sisters chain of boutique hotels, offers a Mediterranean-inspired ambiance, including 29 cloistered guest villas surrounded by lush green gardens filled with oak and walnut trees, stone fountains, and nearby rolling vineyards that will make you swear you’re in Tuscany. Guests can enjoy a heated pool, hot tub, wine bar with chessboards, on-site concierge, and signature bistro serving local gourmet specialties, all in a highly intimate and inviting setting. The spa offers an array of rejuvenating and customizable massage treatments designed to melt away stress and improve sleep. Continuing with the luxury theme, guests are treated to a glass of sparkling wine upon arrival and complimentary wine, cheese, and cordials each evening. Conde Nast readers rated Kenwood the “Top Resort in Mainland USA” in the magazine’s 21st Annual Readers’ Choice Survey. More about the property can be found here.

The DC fast charger we installed not only has an enviable 100kW total output but also features dual port charging technology that can offer 50kW parallel outputs. It’s slightly girthier than our standard chargers at 34 inches deep (versus 22 inches), 42 inches wide (versus 34 inches), and 1,350 pounds (versus 850). However, network compatibility, connector configuration, and the 15-inch color display panel all remain the same, while the efficiency rating was slightly improved to greater than 92% and max DC current notched up to 200A from 125A. What does this all mean for EV drivers? Ultra-rapid charging speeds – up to 80% in 15 minutes – with the same great reliability and customer service they’ve come to know from EVCS. Exactly what you’d expect from a luxury experience.

After charging up, guests can explore a whole host of attractions within a five-mile radius considering the inn’s highly central location, including Hood Mountain Regional Park, Morton’s Warm Springs, the Sonoma Botanical Garden, and Jack London State Historic Park. And for golf lovers, the Ted Robinson-designed Sugarloaf Course at the Valley of the Moon Club is just a quick jaunt down Sonoma Highway. Of course, what would a trip to Sonoma be without a tasting tour of the best local vino? Fortunately, top wineries like Deerfield Ranch, VJB, and Muscardini Cellars are just a stone’s throw away (although with your fully charged battery, it wouldn’t matter if they weren’t).

While making EVs accessible to everyone is a critical part of our goal, we acknowledge that many higher-income drivers want infrastructure specifically catered to their interests and lifestyle. As such, we’ll continue to partner with great destinations like Kenwood that elevate the EV experience through their luxury offerings. That said, we encourage EV drivers of any level to take a long weekend and pamper themselves whenever they can, what with all the money they’re saving on gas!

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Installation of the Month (June 2021): Hyatt Place Riverside/Downtown

The ability to travel is something many of us take for granted. Our Interstate Highway System allows us to freely traverse state boundaries – to go wherever we choose whenever we choose – from the snow-capped Colorado Rockies to the soupy Everglade swamplands to the historic lighthouses of coastal New England. However, EV drivers are more acutely aware of their travel limitations because many areas of the country have yet to adopt pro-electric infrastructure policies, often leaving them with few ground-travel options other than ICE vehicles. We knew getting more Americans to embrace the electric revolution would require buy-in from the hospitality industry. As such, much of our focus has gone toward hotels that, by serving as site hosts for charging stations, can help kickstart that ubiquitous access required to convert many EV holdouts.

Wall Street Journal Piece Brings Up Questions… And We Answer

Stephen Wilmot’s recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “Investors Look for an EV Charge,” debates the merits of investing in EV infrastructure, admitting that while chargers likely make for better investments than cars, the sector still holds many potential pitfalls that should be considered before jumping in. While that may be true, many of the examples backing up this assertion cite the business models of the largest EV installers in the country while failing to consider what less visible but faster-growing companies like EVCS are doing to mitigate such risks. Below are a few quotes from the article and our thoughts on them, including how we’re different.

Commentary on EV Industry Profitability Claims

In a recent Driving.ca article titled “EV-Charging Industry is Doing Everything Except Making Money,” author David R. Baker makes a compelling argument that the EV infrastructure sector is a revenue desert, essentially incapable of generating enough cash flow to sustain profitability due to a lack of interest from motorists. “The dilemma boils down to demand,” he states, before adding that “lots of people still driving gasoline-powered cars won’t consider going electric until they see charging stations widely deployed.”

Installation of the Month (May 2021): LADOT Lot 656

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) notes on its website that ICE vehicles are one of the city’s top contributors to air pollution, accounting for 19% of all greenhouse gas emissions, before proclaiming, “We can do better… We’re investing in public transit, testing new technology, and adopting mobility innovations for a cleaner environment and brighter future.” At first, it might just sound like flowery rhetoric, but we can personally attest to that commitment. Starting in 2019, LADOT partnered with us to install DCFCs at 57 city-owned lots, with almost 30% of those installations now completed. This alliance has been integral in promoting our goal of zero-emission mobility in the City of Angels by facilitating greater access to infrastructure.

Addressing Pain Points in Creating EV Infrastructure

A recent GovTech.com article titled “How Biden Plans to Build 500 EV Charging Stations” discusses the President’s goals for creating a nationwide network of 500,000 such installations by 2030. While it does a smart job laying out many of the pain points we face in facilitating EV adoption, the mention of solutions was far less prevalent, and ones that were mentioned seemed speculative or tenuous. However, over the last three years, EVCS has already taken the lead in addressing many of these challenge areas, allowing us to dominate the installation market across the West Coast.